Advance Care Planning Program
The Advance Care Planning Program is a live online course that helps participants understand the documents, decisions, conversations, and practical preparation that support thoughtful care before crisis occurs.
Rooted in the Kettle & Candle belief that to die well, we must live well and plan well, this course offers a compassionate, real-world approach to medical decision-making, family guidance, legal and personal preparation, and meaningful communication.
Participants may enroll in Foundation only, in the combined Foundation + Facilitator Program, or—if they completed the original course in past years—return for the Facilitator portion.
Overview
Advance care planning is not one form and it is not one conversation. It is the steady work of helping people clarify wishes, organize essential information, prepare for medical and legal realities, and reduce avoidable confusion for the people who may one day have to help carry decisions forward.
The Advance Care Planning Program is designed for individuals, family caregivers, doulas, and helping professionals who want a practical, compassionate, and real-world understanding of planning before serious illness, incapacity, or end-of-life circumstances place families under pressure.
This course teaches more than paperwork. It helps participants understand values-based decision-making, communication, medical and legal preparation, household and document readiness, comfort care choices, and the many pieces of planning that are too often postponed until crisis has already arrived.
Whether a student is seeking stronger personal preparation, better support for loved ones, or advanced facilitator-level training, this program offers a clear path into the work and a structure that honors both depth and practical application.
Course Purpose
The purpose of the Advance Care Planning Program is to help participants prepare thoughtfully before crisis, communicate wishes clearly, understand the responsibilities involved in care planning, and build confidence around conversations that many families avoid until it is too late.
Participants are guided to strengthen both practical readiness and human understanding so planning becomes not simply a stack of forms, but a meaningful act of care.
Topics Covered:
- Advance care planning across the lifespan
- Planning for children, teens, and dependent family members
- Medical decision-making and care preferences
- Medical and legal planning documents
- Medical power of attorney and related responsibilities
- Medical records and important personal information
- Financial and household considerations often overlooked
- Comfort care decisions at end of life
- Understanding palliative care and hospice
- Final disposition choices and considerations
- Organ and body donation
- Legacy work, obituaries, celebrations of life, and remembrance
Who This Course Is For:
This course is for individuals who are ready to:
- Get their own affairs and wishes in order
- Support loved ones with clearer planning and communication
- Explore advance care planning without reducing it to paperwork alone
- Strengthen their ability to discuss values, care preferences, and practical preparation
- Prepare before urgency forces decisions
- Work more skillfully with clients, families, or communities around planning
This course is especially meaningful for end-of-life doulas, caregivers, helping professionals, advocates, and individuals who feel called to practical preparation, compassionate communication, and values-based care.
What Makes This Course Different:
The Advance Care Planning Program is not simply a checklist course and it is not limited to one document. It brings together the practical, emotional, legal, medical, and relational dimensions of planning in a way that reflects how real people actually live, decide, and care for one another.
Participants are invited not only to gather information, but to understand why planning matters, how families are affected when it is missing, and how thoughtful preparation can reduce chaos, conflict, and fear when difficult moments arrive.
The work is grounded, compassionate, and usable. It helps students prepare well for themselves, support others more skillfully, and recognize that planning is an act of responsibility and love.
Course Options and Tuition:
Foundation Course — $895 | The core Advance Care Planning training for students who want the essential framework, education, and practical tools of this work. |
Foundation + Facilitator Program — $1,595 | For students who wish to enroll in both levels from the outset. Students begin with Foundation and continue directly into the Facilitator portion. |
Facilitator Course for Previous Students — $795 | For students who completed the original Advance Care Planning course in past years and wish to return for the Facilitator portion and support library access. |
Students who enroll in Foundation only and later decide to return for the Facilitator portion may do so at the Facilitator add-on tuition of $795. Students who know they want to complete both levels are encouraged to enroll in the combined program at the outset.
Payment and Registration Policy:
Payment Options | Payment may be made in full or through an available payment plan. |
Facilitator Materials | For Foundation + Facilitator enrollment and previous-student Facilitator enrollment, tuition must be paid in full before Facilitator materials are released. |
Refunds / Transfers | All registrations are non-refundable. If an unforeseen event prevents attendance, tuition paid may be transferred to a future Advance Care Planning course. |
Enrollment Limits | Foundation Course enrollment cap: 25 students. Facilitator Course enrollment cap: 20 students. |
Course Format:
Course Structure | Foundation Course, combined Foundation + Facilitator Program, or Facilitator return path for qualified previous students |
Class Schedule | 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM CST through Google Meets |
Recordings | Available within 48 hours for students who cannot attend live |
Materials | Kettle & Candle Legacy Series materials, guided planning resources, and facilitator materials as applicable by enrollment level |
Instructor | Pamela Carter |
Presented Through | International Doula Life Movement Institute |
Pam Carter
Over the last 40 years, Pam has worked with countless individuals as they prepared for their good death, supported loved ones as they made their final good-byes and guided people through the process of settling the estates of those who had passed on.
Pam views her work as an end-of-life doula and educator to be a sacred calling. Before this work was the focus of her career, she found herself being the “go-to” person in her community for providing education, advice and support to those preparing to die and their loved ones who are navigating the process of settling an estate while processing their own grief.
After working with so many different individuals and families across the economic spectrum, Pam realized that end-of-life education, planning and values-based care is sorely lacking for the majority. Today, she focuses her work on helping people prepare for their final adventure – a good death – through advanced planning education and active work “in the field” as a medical advocate and an end-of-life doula.
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